“We aim to make therapy support accessible and affordable to everyone”, says Muskaan.
Muskaan Karanwal is the Founder of “TlkOut Initiative”, a startup in the mental health and wellness industry. Her desire to visualize a world where mental health receives the much-needed priority made her take a stand in the right direction. A postgraduate from Warwick Business School, Muskaan’s battles with mental health while studying abroad brought her closer to the startup idea.
Tlkout app is dedicated to creating a judgement-free and supportive community to allow people to be their honest and vulnerable selves. In addition, the platform hosts a variety of researched and therapist-approved articles for one to navigate their mental health battles.
Discover some essential insight into mental wellbeing, and how Muskaan became a helping hand in this freewheeling conversation with Storiyaan.
Muskaan Karanwal: Talk It Out!
Interview
Questions and answers
What are your major takeaways from studying at Warwick Business School?
Studying abroad made me more self-dependent as I was away from home and handling everything on my own. Along with that, the curriculum is different in foreign universities. They focus majorly on case studies, practical hands-on work. This gave me added advantage as I realised my love for entrepreneurship and that has been so ever since.
What motivated you to work on a startup for wellness and mental health and how did you stumble upon it initially?
Personally, having suffered from poor mental health, I realised the need to bring mental wellness to the forefront. Especially in India, where emotional hygiene is a neglected issue, working in the mental health industry became my paramount interest. I wasn’t being proactive in applying for jobs as none of the profiles interested me and hence I decided to take the plunge and go after what I truly stand for.
Talk to us about ‘TlkOut’ and how can our readers benefit from the same?
“TlkOut” serves as a one-stop solution for mental health and wellness in India. We aim to bring the talks about mental health to the forefront and raise awareness about mental health, the distinction between mental health and mental illness.
Readers can benefit from our guided journals and blogs on our apps to understand their emotions. We have channels to communicate with the community and cater to offering therapy. In addition, we publish therapist approved articles on our website about mental health, self-care, self-love and many other tools for your best care.
What according to you are the most widespread stigmas that exist around mental health in 2021?
The most widespread misconception is the ill-informed overlapping of poor mental health and mental illness. This is closely followed by the notion that people suffering from poor mental health are weak and do not have healthy relationships or are outcasts. Likewise, the effectiveness of therapy is often undermined as people think it is only about talking. Therefore, such ideas are age-old and still prevalent.
Can you tell us something about the recruitment process at ‘TlkOut’ and how can people reach out to you if they wish to?
We try to connect mental health professionals to the people who require it. So they can either contact us through our website or direct message on Instagram or Facebook or email us contact@tlkout.com. Accordingly, some criteria are established for the same which we explain to the individuals as and when they reach out to us.
According to you, what are some red flags that indicate it’s time to seek professional help?
Although the indicators differ from one person to the other, usually, if you are experiencing some routine or emotional changes subject to any massive change in your life; you might want to seek professional help. If you experience changes in your sleeping or eating patterns, having difficulties in your relationship due to emotional instability etc then reaching out to a therapist might be helpful.